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What is Rising Action? How to Elevate Your Plot
Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this article, we
June 10, 2025
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Story Structure
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Every screenwriter dreams to one day have their own feature length film on the big screen. Regardless of how grand...
If you’ve found yourself enchanted by tales of a bygone era, you’re likely a fan of historical fiction. In this...
Every writer at one time or another thinks: I need to write faster. The page is blank. The clock is...
Proofreading marks are symbols used to denote corrections to a manuscript. Many editors today use “track changes” features on various...
Many writers struggle to get the pacing right in their stories. We adjust scenes: adding, trimming, and attempting to hike...
While your Editing Checklist is about clarity and pacing, and your Rewrite is about adjusting the structure and polishing character...
With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....
What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...
The climax. This is the moment your reader has been waiting for. They’ve spent hours immersed in your story, falling...
Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...
For some writers, just getting the story started is the toughest part. There’s so much you want to say, but...
Ever since humans have been able to communicate, we share stories, weaving the tapestry of our shared existence. These stories...
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What is an Inciting Incident? The Story Moment That Changes Everything
With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention. So, what
June 10, 2025
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Blog
Falling Action: The Bridge Between Climax and Resolution
What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or triumphs over
June 10, 2025
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Blog
How to Write a Compelling Climax
The climax. This is the moment your reader has been waiting for. They’ve spent hours immersed in your story, falling in love
May 23, 2025
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Blog
Story: A Journey of Self-Discovery
Story is always a journey of self-discovery “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Embarking on a creative endeavor, especially
October 4, 2024
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Exploring the Dilemma
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist has a
August 27, 2024
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Transformation
Story is the most powerful way we have to express ideas. We can actually see the journey that a human being takes
June 27, 2024
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Blog
The Imperative for Dramatic Conflict
A director told me once that if you put two actors together in a scene without directing them or staging the scene,
May 14, 2024
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Memoir
Finding Home
“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The dilemma is
May 12, 2024
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Story is an Argument
(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story is the
April 23, 2024
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What Does it Mean?
Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point where we
February 2, 2024
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Exploring Your Protagonist’s Dilemma
(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and
December 11, 2023
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Plot versus Theme
Any writer can experience that moment where you suddenly realize that your “idea” of the story isn’t going to get you to
October 20, 2023
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The Nature of the “Want”
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want” in your
November 5, 2021
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Blog
How Do You Identify the Dilemma in Your Story?
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify the dilemma
October 15, 2021
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Blog
The End of the Story Informs the Beginning
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For first-time writers,
June 18, 2021
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Blog
Writing Act Three: Our Hero Accepts the Reality of Their Situation
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it does not
May 21, 2021
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Blog
Story Structure as an Experiential Model
There is a structure to the universe. From the smallest atom to the forces that move the planets, there is a universal
August 7, 2020
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Recent posts
Rising action refers to the series of events that lead from a story’s inciting incident to the climax. In this...
With storytelling, if your reader isn’t engaged within the first few chapters, you run the risk of losing their attention....
What happens after a story’s climactic moment? What comes after the protagonist wins the girl, or defeats the bully, or...
The climax. This is the moment your reader has been waiting for. They’ve spent hours immersed in your story, falling...
Story is always a journey of self-discovery “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Embarking on a creative...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma. It is not a question of whether or not your protagonist...
Story is the most powerful way we have to express ideas. We can actually see the journey that a human...
A director told me once that if you put two actors together in a scene without directing them or staging...
“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The...
(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story...
Everyone has a story. It takes courage to tell it, be it memoir or fiction, because there comes a point...
(Image from The Hunger Games, 2012) “The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for...
Any writer can experience that moment where you suddenly realize that your “idea” of the story isn’t going to get...
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want”...
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify...
In Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states: “Begin with the end in mind.” For...
It can be frightening and exhilarating to realize that our story is bigger than we are, that in fact, it...
There is a structure to the universe. From the smallest atom to the forces that move the planets, there is...
